DEAD CELEB OF THE WEEK: PRINCESS DIANA (1961-1997)

Born: July 1, 1961
Died: August 31, 1997Di’s last words?“My God! What’s happened?”
Frankly, Diana, we don’t know.
The People’s Princess, along with her lover Dodi Al-Fayed, were killed during a high speed car crash in the Pont de l’Alma road tunnel in Paris. Henri Paul, the acting security manager of the Hotel Ritz Paris, whose blood analysis would later prove he was illegally intoxicated, was driving the black 1994 Mercedes-Benz S280 eluding the paparazzi. He was also killed. The car crashed into the thirteenth pillar of the tunnel. None of the occupants were wearing seatbelts.
Dodi’s bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, was the lone survivor . . . and heard the last words.
Diana, who was in the backseat was violently thrown around the interior upon impact, “submarined” under the seat in front and suffering massive damage to her heart. The internal bleeding was a royal mess. And we’re sure her last meal—a mushroom and asparagus omelet, Dover sole and vegetable tempura eaten at L’Espadon, the Ritz’s restaurant—never had the chance to fully digest. After a short delay, an ambulance whisked her to a hospital, where she went into cardiac arrest twice.
Despite lengthy resuscitation attempts, including internal cardiac massage, she died at 4 a.m. She was buried dressed in a black long-sleeved dress designed by CatheinrWalker. Rosary beads she received from Mother Teresa (who would die the same week) were placed in her hands, and photographs of her beloved sons William and Harry and her father were tucked into her oak coffin. Her funeral, held on September 6, was watched by an estimated 2.5 billion people worldwide and broadcast to 180 countries, the largest audience in TV history.
Her grave is on an island within the grounds of Althrorp Park, her family home.